A Different Life
by crimsonapathy
Summary: What would have happened if Peter had been exposed as a traitor the night before Lily and James were killed? Rating for possible later chapters. Enjoy.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or anything else that belongs to J.K. Rowling. Anything in this story that you do not recognize, or that I created, belongs to me.

**Story Summary:** What would have happened if Peter had been exposed as a traitor the night before Lily and James were killed? This is the story of what would have if Voldemort had not managed to kill Harry's parents that night. Would he have moved onto Neville Longbottom? No, he would not have. He would have followed through with his obsessive desire of getting Harry killed until he had succeeded.

**A/N:** The Harry Potter books are not in my possession, so all the facts I use in my stories are from memory. Please, please don't become angry if something is wrong. Kindly correct me if you must, but there is no assurance that I will indeed correct it in the story.

Please enjoy and review!

**Prologue**

A certain werewolf barged into James and Lily's home. His eyes had a wild look about them, and if one looked more closely into those hazel eyes, they would also sense fright. Betrayal. Anger. He ran into the kitchen as fast as he could, not caring that he was breaking things in his hurry. What he had come to tell was much, much more important.

The werewolf inside him sensed his anger and wanted to take over. He did everything in his power to prevent it, as he frantically grabbed at Lily's robes, gasping. As his eyes met his friends', he momentarily lost the ability to speak. His mind was still processing what he had accidentally overheard about half an hour beforehand.

This put the Potters in a state of shock. Less than five minutes ago, they had been talking to their friend Sirius Black, their chosen to-be Secret Keeper, about the Fidelus Charm which Dumbledore had recommended they perform. Sirius had stubbornly insisted that Remus Lupin, the werewolf currently hyperventilating in front of them, their friend, was spying for Voldemort. James had forcibly turned Sirius's accusation down, one of the only times in his life that he had gone against his best friend. Lily also believed that Remus would never betray them, even if it would cost him his life. Sirius had disdainfully dropped the subject, then had urged his friends to switch Secret Keepers. To none other than Peter Pettigrew.

Lily and James had been stunned. They wanted Sirius to be their Secret Keeper; they trusted him more than anyone else in the world, except perhaps, in Lily's case, Dumbledore. Peter, even though he was their friend, was not the kind of person they would trust with this. However, after Sirius had explained his motives and had spent nearly an hour persuading his friends, they had finally agreed. They had not been aware of the exact reason why they had to go into hiding until about two days ago, and they were convinced that they needed the most secrecy they could get.

A spy, whose identity Dumbledore refused to reveal, had informed the Order of the Phoenix about how Lily and James were being targeted by Voldemort. Something about a prophecy had come up a few months later, and this spurred Dumbledore to send the Potters into hiding. They refused, claiming that they wanted to fight. Dumbledore had found no choice but to tell them the prophecy made about their son. Horrified, they agreed to perform the Fidelus Charm.

Now, the night before the Charm was to be performed, one of their friends seemed to be…scared. For their safety. "Peter," Remus whispered hoarsely. James was uncertain of what his friend was trying to tell them, but he disliked the mood that Remus had brought with him, and tried to lighten up the atmosphere. "I'm James, not Peter, remember?" James grinned, but his charming smile faltered as Remus looked up at him with a pained look. Lily was worried, and asked Remus gently, "Has something happened to Peter?" Remus shook his head, but his eyes grew bitter with the sound of the name. Lily and James were now extremely worried, as their werewolf friend had only lost his composure in front of others very few times. Remus finally managed to utter two words that hit his friends, the Potters, like a bullet to the heart.

"Peter…_traitor_."

**

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Well, that's the end of the prologue. I know it's short, hence _prologue_. Please review and I hope you enjoyed this, even though I guess it was rather predictable because of the summary. I will get the first chapter up as soon as I can, but I am in the process of writing three fanfics so it might take a while. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or anything else that belongs to J.K. Rowling. Anything in this story that you do not recognize, or that I created, belongs to me.

**Story Summary:** What would have happened if Peter had been exposed as a traitor the night before Lily and James were killed? This is the story of what would have if Voldemort had not managed to kill Harry's parents that night. Would he have moved onto Neville Longbottom? No, he would not have. He would have followed through with his obsessive desire of getting Harry killed until he had succeeded.

**A/N:** The Harry Potter books are not in my possession, so all the facts I use in my stories are from memory. Please, please don't become angry if something is wrong. Kindly correct me if you must, but there is no assurance that I will indeed correct it in the story.

Nothing from HBP is to be used here, so technically this is an AU.

**Please enjoy and review! No flaming please, but constructive criticism is allowed. **

**Thanks:**

**FeolaBlack** Thank you! It's encouraging to look at my fanfic and see that someone else has also read it. I'm glad you liked the prologue and how I wrote it, and I hope that you'll enjoy this chapter as well.

**Slytherin-Angel44:** I'm glad you like this twist on Harry's life! Thanks for reviewing, and I hope you like the first chapter.

I'm sorry to everyone that it's taking me so long to update and write, but I get extreme writer's block in addition to the fact that I'm spending more time on my main story at the moment, currently titled Never Told: Year 1, and writing one-shots. Please read that story as well, I'd appreciate it!

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**1.1: Flashback  
**Remus's head was still spinning from the shock of discovering that Peter was the traitor; so much that he didn't even see Lily and James' reaction.

"Does Dumbledore know?" he heard a worried voice ask. Remus nodded frantically; he had been sure to inform Dumbledore immediately.

"I told him," he choked out. James and Lily had not felt the full impact of Remus's words yet, so they knelt down by him to comfort him. Remus did not wish for comfort.

Turning away from his two friends with shock on their faces, he ran out their door and ran until he couldn't anymore. How could Peter do this?

His still ragged breathing was becoming steadier as he stood there, using a tree for support. He had been so intent on letting Lily and James know…letting them know that one of the Marauders had turned traitor…that he had not shed one tear yet. But slowly, the tears began to fall. He was weeping for the first time in a very, very, long time.

He sank to his knees and an odd feeling appeared in his stomach…

He felt guilty…too guilty. So much time had been wasted between him and Sirius…they had spent over a year ignoring each other; feeding degrading information about each other to members of the Order, believing the other to be traitorous…he could remember every detail…

How stupid he had been…now that he thought of it, he couldn't possibly be a traitor to his best friend…not Sirius Black, Padfoot…

_Remus was standing in Dumbledore's office, with the rest of the Order of the __Phoenix__. He was nervous; he had suspicions that he did not think would be taken lightly by most of the members. _

_"Remus," James whispered hoarsely. Remus turned to find James and Lily with dark looks on their faces. He gave James a questioning look; he knew something must be up because James usually called him 'Moony'._

_James motioned to a corner of the room, and Remus followed. Lily looked nervous._

_Remus almost chuckled as he saw James seem at an apparent loss of words, but Lily looked so apprehensive that he decided it was better to not do so._

_"Remus…" James started. He took a deep breath. "Sirius thinks that you're the traitor," he said very quickly, as though the words would sting less if they were spoken faster. Lily nodded slightly, looking fearful now. Remus let the words sink in._

_Anger boiled up inside him…he felt like Sirius was using his being a werewolf against him. And yet…hadn't Remus been wanting to tell James and Lily that he believed Sirius to be the traitor? Still, he felt angry…_

_Lily looked terrified. Remus used all his strength to force himself to look composed. James was still waiting for a reply._

_"There's nothing I can do about that."_

_James and Lily looked only slightly relieved that Remus hadn't jumped at their throats. They sensed that their friend had more to say. _

_"I…I must confess…I had wanted to tell you tonight…I think Sirius is the traitor."_

_Lily let out a choked sob, and James looked upset. "Remus, like you said, there's nothing we can do about that. I just hope that you and Sirius change your minds."_

_James and Lily retreated back to the crowd in the middle of Dumbledore's office. Remus stood in the corner, controlling his temper. So that was why Sirius seemed to be avoiding him lately…as Remus had been doing to him._

_After a few minutes, Dumbledore called order to the room and everyone assembled for a meeting. Remus was determinedly avoiding Sirius's gaze; glaring at James and Lily for somehow forcing them to sit next to each other._

_Sirius was sitting with his arms crossed. He looked annoyed._

_Dumbledore glanced over at the two friends. There was no sparkle in his eyes. He looked worried._

_Remus fumed inside his head. Why did Sirius think he was the traitor? Possibly because he was a werewolf. But what had he done?_

_A voice inside his mind reminded him that he also thought Sirius was a traitor. Why did he think so? _

_"I guess it's because he had been avoiding me for the past few weeks…and I assumed he had avoided the rest of us as well…and he is most likely to be a traitor. Look at his family," Remus thought, not paying attention to Dumbledore. Remus didn't believe it, but he kept repeating it to himself until he did._

_------------------ _

_James and Lily were beginning to become increasingly worried, Remus could tell. It wasn't just the war, and the fact that Voldemort was after them. James had never enjoyed tension between friends, and Remus and Sirius were constantly at each other's throats or ignoring each other. _

_The couple refused to believe that either of them were traitors, and continuously pleaded to the two of them to stop arguing. It was only getting worse; and even Dumbledore looked like he wanted to step in whenever they had an Order meeting._

_"Please, Remus," James begged. "Sirius isn't a traitor…if anyone is, it's Peter….Sirius would never do something like this…and I know you wouldn't either…"_

_Lily Evans, on the other hand, had been reduced to tears. Both Remus and Sirius stood firm in their opinions…and it got worse and worse. _

_----------------- _

Remus let out a sigh, thinking about this. If only he had listened to James…none of the past year would have ever happened with Sirius. He fell down to the ground, deep in thought. Last night…

----------------

_Remus had been called to another Order meeting; the second one in the same day. It had seemed highly suspicious at the time, but he had been so weary that he went anyway._

_James, Lily, Sirius, and Dumbledore had been waiting in the office for him. Dumbledore looked upset and Sirius was pacing the room angrily._

_"Remus," Dumbledore said quietly. "Would you and Sirius care to explain why you are putting yourselves in this position?"_

_Not being able to bring himself to throw James and Lily dirty looks for ratting them out, Remus shook his head. Sirius was still stalking the room angrily._

_"Then we'll just have to leave you two here to sort this out," Dumbledore said calmly, but coolly. "James, Lily, come with me."_

_Lily shot a frightened look of apology to Remus, and any outrage he had for the couple was gone, replaced with outrage for Dumbledore. _

_The door clicked shut behind them._

_Sirius advanced. "I will protect them until I die," he snarled. "If you dare put a finger on them—"_

_Remus retained a calm composure, but inside was flaring up with anger. "If anyone will lay a finger on them to hurt them, it will not be me," he stated. "It will be you."_

_Sirius scowled. "Remus—werewolf—why do you expect me to believe that you're not a traitor?" _

_"Why do you expect me to believe that you're not, either?" Remus remarked._

_Sirius broke. "SHUT UP!" he roared, throwing himself at Remus. _

_Remus dodged Sirius. "After all, they made you Secret-Keeper—it would be only too easy for you to reveal their whereabouts—"_

_"I said, SHUT UP!" Sirius repeated, now yelling. "You filthy werewolf—half-breed—traitor!" _

_Remus let down his outer composure._

_"SIRIUS, YOU'RE BEING RIDICULOUS! I WILL NOT LET LILY OR JAMES GET HURT, IF I NEED TO RISK MY LIFE OR DIE TO DO SO!" he screamed. "IF ANYONE WILL, IT'S YOU!" _

_The portraits in Dumbledore's office were beginning to look very alarmed. Sirius's face turned red and he picked up one of the knick-knacks off of Dumbledore's desk and threw it at Remus. It scraped across Remus's face, leaving a bloody gash._

_"HOW…DARE…YOU!" Remus screamed, nearly in tears for the first time in very long. He took out his wand and jinxed Sirius before anything else could be done. "STUPEFY!"_

_Dumbledore, Lily, and James walked into the office._

_"We heard the commo—" James began. He never finished his sentence after he saw the state of the room and his two friends. Lily sobbed, and collapsed on the ground, her head buried in her hands. James looked at Remus seriously._

_"What's wrong with you two?" he cried, slapping Remus across the face then checking to see if Sirius was okay. "Ennervate." _

_Sirius got up to his feet. "Get away from me," he spat dangerously at Remus. _

_Remus didn't need telling twice. He turned on his heel and stalked away from Dumbledore's office, ignoring the shouts of protest from James._

---------------------

_And now look what I've found out tonight,_ Remus thought to himself sadly. _James was right after all…_

He slowly regained his composure, and shakily pulled himself up to his feet. This was the second time in two days that he had lost his composure, something that was rare for him.

Remus forced himself up and shook his head to clear it. He had something to do tonight, and he wanted to do it as soon as possible.

He took out his wand and apparated with a crack.

**1.2: Apologies  
**Remus Lupin was standing in front of a small house with a tattered roof. He knew that Sirius had moved out of Lily and James's house at Godric's Hollow sometime in the past year, but had not known Sirius's living conditions. This came as quite a shock…Lily and James had just given him an address.

He slowly approached the door, and knocked quickly. Sirius opened the door, and stiffened.

"Hello, Remus," he said cautiously. "James and Lily told me. They flooed just awhile ago, and said you were very distressed…" Sirius's voice trailed off.

Remus gave a curt nod, and motioned to the doorway. "Hi, Sirius," he said coolly. "Can I come in?"

Sirius hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Come in."

Remus entered the doorway, and was surprised to find that it wasn't too shabby inside the small house. Sirius turned on the light, and motioned to a chair. "Sit down if you want."

"Sirius?" Remus said quietly, still standing. "Did…did you…have anything to do with Peter," he asked tentatively.

Sirius's eyes flashed dangerously and Remus backed away slightly. "No," he said curtly, muttering something under his breath that sounded ridiculously similar to, "The little greasy traitor."

"Okay, I was just wondering," Remus said vaguely, closing the topic.

"What, you're not going to try to force something into me to make sure I'm telling the truth?" Sirius asked scathingly. He regretted it immediately after saying it, for Remus buried his face in his hands at this remark.

"No, Sirius, I'm not," Remus said wearily, a few moments after. "I came here to apologize—but you don't seem to be in the mood to accept apologies."

"I'll come back some other time," he said, standing up from the table. Sirius just stared at Remus as he left.

"I can't take this anymore," Sirius muttered to himself. Making up his mind, he put down the hot chocolate he was drinking and put on a coat. He ran out his door, trying to catch up to Remus, who was walking very quickly down the road.

Sirius didn't have time to wonder why Remus hadn't apparated yet, but just ran after him. He ran faster than he ever had.

"Remus," he called, gasping for air, as he drew closer to his friend. Remus paused, but did not reply.

"Remus," Sirius repeated, putting his hands firmly on Remus's shoulders and turning him to face him.

"I'm—I'm…I'm sorry," Sirius stammered. Remus stopped struggling against Sirius grasp, and stared.

_Did Sirius Black just apologize?_ Remus wondered.

"I…this is hard…but…I was wrong," Sirius mumbled. Remus nodded.

"I'm sorry too," Remus said. Sirius exhaled.

Remus didn't know it, but the conflict between the two had taken a large toll on Sirius. He was no longer as much of a lighthearted and blithe person as he was before, and had finally seen and acknowledged the consequences of war.

"We…we have to talk to James and Lily," Sirius said, after a moment of silence. Remus was staring off into space with a look of hatred on his face.

"Shush," Remus commanded, still staring at the same spot that he was before.

Sirius wanted to retort, but decided to make it up to Remus for not talking to him in the past year, and shut his mouth for possibly the first time in his life.

**1.3: Traitor Caught  
**Remus darted forwards silently, taking care not to make any quick movements as to draw attention. Sirius did not know what his friend was trying to do, but stayed still.

"Stupefy," Remus whispered. A jet of red light came out of his wand, and struck something. There was a soft squeal, and Sirius heard something drop to the ground.

Sirius suddenly understood what Remus had been trying to do. But no…it couldn't be that simple…he would have taken more precautions by then…but he didn't know that Remus knew, did he?

"Remus," Sirius said grimly. "Is that him?"

Remus nodded. "I guess he was trying to spy on us," he spat, furious. "Luckily, I didn't expose to him that I found out that he was a filthy, traitorous rat."

The rat that was lying on the ground indeed was Peter…Sirius could recognize his markings from anywhere. But what he couldn't understand was _why_ Peter had betrayed them all…he must have been passing information for months…that was probably why he kept saying he was busy…

_And I had persuaded Lily and James to change to him for Secret-Keeper,_ Sirius thought. _He probably would have sold them out, and they all would've been killed…Lily, James, and Harry._

Remus looked at the rodent on the floor with disgust, but picked it up.

"We'll bring him to Dumbledore," Remus said, trying to control himself from killing the rat right there and then. "He can probably give us some information…then we'll feed him to the dementors."

Sirius nodded absentmindedly, his face etched with hate. The two friends kept a tight grip on the unconscious rat and apparated right outside the Hogwarts grounds.

When they reached the Hogwarts castle, Dumbledore was already there waiting for them. "I saw you two from my window," he said, his eyes twinkling for the first time in a very long time while in the presence of Sirius and Remus.

Remus nodded quickly. "Yes, Dumbledore, we have something to show you—" he said hurriedly.

Sirius nodded affirmatively. "Peter Pettigrew. We have caught him. Or…Remus caught him."

Dumbledore looked absolutely delighted, but a dark look passed over his face. "Of all people…even I didn't think…" he muttered to himself.

Clearing his throat, Dumbledore motioned to his office window. "We'll bring him there…I wish to interrogate him," he said sadly. "I will ask Lily and James to come here as well."

Remus and Sirius nodded, and followed Dumbledore to his office.

"Sugar Quills," Dumbledore said as they approached the statue. His voice was soft and controlled, but Remus could sense that inside, he was burning with rage.

They entered his office, and Remus set the rat down on Dumbledore's desk.

Dumbledore examined the rat silently, then let out a sigh. "Sirius, please transform him back into a human."

"If that's what you want to call him," Sirius said nastily. Dumbledore looked at him reproachfully, so Sirius muttered a few words, and Peter Pettigrew was now lying unconscious on Dumbledore's desk. Sirius growled and raised his wand to curse his now-enemy, but Remus caught his arm and pulled it down. The two of them looked at Dumbledore with questioning looks.

"Sirius, I think it would be best if you called Lily and James here now," Dumbledore said, his voice still sounding morose.

Nodding, Sirius took a handful of Floo Powder and stuck his head into the fire, yelling "Godric's Hollow!" as loudly as he could. Remus almost chuckled.

**1.4: Interrogation  
**Five minutes later, James and Lily fell out of the fire, disheveled and covered in soot. Lily's eyes were red, evidently she had been crying.

"That—that's him?" Lily whispered, sounding terrified. James moved closer to Dumbledore's desk, and nodded.

"I still find it hard to believe that he's a traitor," James confessed. He glanced at Remus and Sirius, and was glad to see that the two were at least on speaking terms again.

"I caught him spying on us," Remus said stonily. James nodded in understanding.

"I will administer Veritaserum on him," Dumbledore cut in quietly. "You are free to watch my interrogation, and ask him any questions _related_ to the situation when I am done."

Lily began to cry. James soothed her best he could, and when Lily's sobs faded, Dumbledore took out a vial of a clear potion. Using his wand, he opened Peter's mouth and poured in Veritaserum.

"Ennervate," Dumbledore said softly. Peter stirred, and swallowed, not realizing he had just the liquid in his mouth was Veritaserum. He opened his eyes, which had a dull look to them.

Dumbledore sighed and sat down.

"You are Peter Pettigrew, correct?" Peter nodded.

"Are you working for Lord Voldemort?" Peter flinched. Remus, Sirius, and James exchanged glances. Peter had never been able to say He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's true name…or the name that everyone feared.

Peter opened his mouth. "Yes, I am," he said, almost sounding guilty, but not quite. Sirius scowled deeply, and Remus restrained him again.

"How long have you been spying for him?" Dumbledore asked quietly.

"I'm not sure…a few months, I suppose," Peter responded dully. Dumbledore looked unhappy, which made Remus very uneasy.

"Have you passed all information on to Voldemort?"

Peter looked like he was thinking. "A lot of it," he finally said. "But not everything."

Dumbledore bowed his head, and sighed. "Well, the damage is done," he said to James, Sirius, and Remus. Lily had hid herself in the corner.

"Sirius asked Lily and James to make you their Secret-Keeper. Did you know anything about this?" Dumbledore stared at Peter.

"I had assumed that he would do something like that," Peter said, grinning slightly. "If that had happened, I would have been awarded beyond anyone's dreams…I would have been able to hand Harry over to the Dark Lord."

Sirius stood up from his chair and yelled. "YOU FILTHY TRAITOR!"

"Sirius, please!" Dumbledore said quickly but firmly. Remus pulled Sirius back into his chair.

Dumbledore seemed to have finished his line of questioning, and was sitting at his desk very quietly. James took this chance to ask a question.

"Peter, why did you go over to the Dark side?" James asked, his voice shaky.

"I was scared," Peter confessed. "He was gaining power everywhere…and he would have killed me."

James' face contorted with pain. Peter should have died for them…any of them would have done so for him…it was all he could do, force himself to stay in his chair and not curse Peter into shreds.

There was silence for a few minutes, and Dumbledore stood up. "There will be no more questions," he said slowly. James, Sirius, and Remus nodded. They had heard enough.

"Stupefy," Dumbledore muttered. Peter slumped down on the chair he was sitting on.

"We will have to kill him," Dumbledore said firmly, but quietly.

Sirius nodded in agreement, but Remus cleared his throat.

"Sir, wouldn't the Dementor's Kiss be a better fitted punishment for the rat?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, it would be," he said. "I am afraid, Remus, that you and Sirius have been dwelling too much on your previous conflict, and have not heard everything that had been said."

"All the dementors are in the control of Lord Voldemort," he said, bowing his head. Sirius looked angry, but Remus kept a rather blank look on his face. He had figured that something like this would happen sooner or later, anyhow.

"So I guess we're left with only one choice," James said nastily. "Let's kill him."

His voice contained no pity.

Dumbledore nodded. "That is one of our options. But before we do anything to Peter, I would like to know, when did you become Animagi? Illegal ones, at that."

James opened and closed his mouth. Sirius looked up, startled, and Remus took a deep breath. They had been so wrapped up in the nights' events that they had forgotten that they had never told anyone their secret about being Animagi.

"Fourth year," James finally managed to say.

Dumbledore nodded, and to their surprise, laughed. "I'm surprised you got away with that under my nose," he said, his eyes twinkling for the first time in his office that night. His cheerful expression vanished soon afterwards.

"I'm afraid that this little bit of information ruins a chance to spy on Voldemort," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "I do not wish to put him under the Imperious Curse, as he may be able to break out of that eventually, no matter how weak he may be."

"I had wished to place a tracking charm on him, so we could spy. However, he may catch a whiff of us, and that would ruin it. His being able to turn into a rat may prevent us from ever finding him again."

"Yes, I have made my decision. I will kill him," Dumbledore said sadly. "Avada Kedavra," he said softly, pointing his wand at Peter.

And that was done. Peter Pettigrew, a traitor, a spy, who once was a pure-hearted boy, was now dead.

James, Sirius, Remus, and Lily said goodbye to Dumbledore and walked out of his office without a second glance.

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**1.5: Aftereffects  
**Lily and James returned to their home after saying goodbye to Remus and Sirius, but they couldn't sleep. Too much was on their minds.

"I just don't see why Voldemort has even waited this long before attacking us," Lily murmured. "I'm just glad that he didn't hear the entire prophecy…if he did, he perhaps would have been more careful…"

James nodded. "I still can't believe Peter was the traitor."

Lily looked fearful. "We had better do the Fidelus Charm tomorrow morning, right away…we'll have to call Sirius. Voldemort will be furious that we killed his spy."

James nodded in agreement, and neither said anymore.

Eventually, the two of them fell into a restless sleep.

Not too far away, two young men were also having trouble sleeping.

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**Okay, well, there's chapter two. It took awhile to get up because I was trying to write my other fanfic, but I got writer's block so I just picked this one up again. What do you think?**

**Please review! Thankx.**

**Catherine**


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